Rock legends unite for Sir Peter Blake’s new artwork unveiling

Rock icons Brian May, Bill Wyman and Roger Daltrey joined artist Sir Peter Blake at the Royal Albert Hall on Tuesday (29Apr14) to unveil his new artwork. Blake, who created the iconic cover for The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album, has made a new pop art piece similar to his most famous work.
The mural is a montage of almost 400 celebrities who have appeared at the renowned London venue from 1871 to the present day, including famous figures such as Nelson Mandela, Diana, Princess of Wales and the Dalai Lima. They rub shoulders with musicians ranging from The Beatles to Wyman’s band The Rolling Stones and relative newcomers One Direction and Beyonce.
The rockers helped Blake present the artwork to the public, with The Who frontman Daltrey saying he loves the “energy of the mural”.
Blake had not seen the print of the finished piece until its unveiling and confessed that, despite the scale of the artwork, it was easier to make than than his famous album cover thanks to digital advances.
He says, “I’ve only seen it on computer. Hi-def (high definition) images are just clearer and better. Sgt. Pepper was a much more laborious process. Each cut-out had to be printed up photographically and stuck down and hand-tinted. Now I’d do it on a computer obviously.”